Non-slip header for paper roll, and methods

ABSTRACT

A paper roll having a non-slip surface on the end(s) of the roll, particularly large paper rolls such as those from a paper making processes. A header, having a non-slip coating on one side and an adhesive coating on the other side is applied to end(s) of the rolled paper. Microencapsulated materials are one suitable class of non-slip materials. The non-slip surface on the header improves stability of the roll, when stood on end, during transport, such as in cargo trucks.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is directed to paper products, in particular, rolls of paper sheet goods. The disclosure relates to header assemblies for the paper rolls.

Paper rolls, or other rolls of sheet material, usually have the roll of paper or other sheet material covered with a protective sheet of material (i.e., an outer wrap) wrapped around the circumference of the roll. Any wrap material overhanging the ends of the roll is usually crimped radially inwardly over the ends of the roll. A header assembly is located internally and/or externally of the crimped over projecting wrap portion at each end of the roll. This protection system is often called a “roll wrap” or variation thereof.

The roll wrap protects a roll of paper throughout the distribution process. Once a roll of paper is formed, it is desirable to wrap the paper roll sufficiently to protect the paper roll until it is used so that the paper is not damaged.

Paper rolls, whether or not protectively wrapped, are usually stored and shipped in a standing-on-end orientation. Sometimes, depending on the size of the rolls, the rolls may be stacked one on top of the other to reduce the floor space used. The standing orientation of the rolls, whether or not stacked, is unstable due to their size and weight, and is especially precarious during shipment, when the location where the rolls are standing (e.g., a truck bed, a boat hold, rail car, etc.) is moving.

Improvements in load securement are always desired for transport.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a header assembly, for use with a paper roll or other rolls of sheet material, which is particularly adapted to decrease the slippage of the rolls during transport and to assist with load securement. Generally, the header assembly provides sufficient friction that, in order to move the roll having the header assembly, a force of at least about 80% of the weight of the roll is needed.

In one particular embodiment, this disclosure is directed to a header for use in protecting paper rolls. The header includes a base sheet with a non-slip coating on a first side and a coating, such as an adhesive coating, on the second side. The non-slip coating can be formed from encapsulated material. In some embodiments, the non-slip coating is activated, e.g., by the application of heat and/or pressure, prior to attaching the header to the paper roll or during the process of attaching the header to the roll. The coating may be solvent based or may be a hot-melt material, and may be activated prior to attaching the header to the paper roll or during the process of attaching the header to the roll.

In another particular embodiment, this disclosure is directed to a paper roll having an outer header present on an end, the outer side of the header having a non-slip coating thereon. The outer header is adhered to the paper roll by way of an adhesive coating present on the header on the opposite side of the non-slip coating. The opposite end of the paper can have a similar non-slip header thereon. Present between the outer header and the paper roll may be an inner header.

In yet another particular embodiment, this disclosure is directed to methods of protecting a paper roll by wrapping the roll with an outer wrap and applying a header. The method includes providing a paper roll, such as from a paper manufacturing process. The roll is wrapped with an outer wrap, with a portion of the wrap extending over an end of the roll. The wrap extension is crimped against the end of the roll. A non-slip out header, having a non-slip coating opposite a coating on a base sheet, is attached to the end of the roll so that the coating adheres to the crimped wrap extension.

If the header assembly includes an inner header, the inner header is applied to the end of the roll prior to crimping the wrap end.

These and other embodiments are described in the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper roll;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded, perspective view of a paper roll having an outer protective wrap, an inner header, and an outer header according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the outer header according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to providing a non-slip surface on the end(s) of a paper roll, particularly large paper rolls, such as those from a paper making processes. The size of these rolls is often 30-60 inches in diameter, 30-100 inches in height, weighing from less than a ton to as much as 5 tons, although smaller and larger rolls are also common. Often used terms for these rolls include trim, master and roll stock.

Referring to FIG. 1, a standard, unprotected trimmed roll of paper is illustrated at reference numeral 10. Paper roll 10 has a first end 12, an opposite second end 14, and an outer surface 15 that extends between ends 12 and 14. Paper may be wound on a core or be wound in a coreless manner to form roll 10. The paper of paper roll 10 may be any conventional or otherwise known paper, and of any basis weight that can be wound into a roll, such as kraft paper, newspaper, or other. The paper may be bleached or unbleached, or colored. The paper may be in any stage of processing, for example, ready for printing, ready for slitting, already slit to the desired size, or ready for any other converting process. Methods for forming paper roll 10 are well known.

Rolls 10 are often moved from one location to another for storage. To protect rolls 10 during handling and storage, various protective elements are added to roll 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates wrapped paper roll 10′, which is roll 10 having various protective elements present. In particular, wrapped roll 10′ includes an outer protective wrap 20 that extends around the circumference of paper roll 10. Outer protective wrap 20 preferably extends axially over ends 12, 14 of roll 10 to form covered end 22 and covered end 24, respectively. The portion of wrap 20 that extends over ends 12 to form covered end 22 is crimped or folded to form portions 42. Covered end 24 has a similar overlap of wrap 20, but is not seen in FIG. 2. Outer protective wrap 20 and methods of applying to roll 10 to form crimped portions 42 over covered ends 22, 24 are well known.

It is also well known to apply a header assembly to one or both ends 22, 24 of wrapped roll 10′, to protect the edge of the rolled paper. The header assembly often includes an inner header, positioned between the rolled paper and crimp portions 42, and an outer header, positioned over crimp portions 42. In some assemblies, only one header is present. FIG. 2 illustrates an inner header 50 at end 22 present between the rolled paper and crimp portion 42. A comparable inner header can be present at end 24.

The present disclosure provides a non-slip header assembly, particularly, a non-slip outer header. The non-slip outer header of the invention increases the coefficient of friction on the end of roll 10, which in turn, improves stability of the roll, when stood on the header end. For example, during transport, such as in a cargo truck, a paper roll having the inventive outer header has less tendency to slide on the truck floor, as compared to a roll with a conventional header placed on the truck floor. One attempt to decrease the sliding of paper rolls having conventional headers has been to place a liner or friction mat material on the truck floor to increase the coefficient of friction. The liner, however, is large, bulky, and often difficult to handle. The liner also has a tendency to bunch up, wrinkle, tear, or otherwise become damaged by the fork trucks that load the paper rolls and by the paper rolls slipping while on the liner. Additionally, some liners create a trip hazard for persons walking on the liner. The non-slip header assembly of this invention provides improvements over known products and methods.

As provided above, the non-slip header assembly of this invention increases the coefficient of friction on the end of roll 10 by provided a non-slip surface on the end of roll 10. FIG. 2 illustrates wrapped roll 10′ having the non-slip header assembly of the present invention.

The present invention includes outer header 100, having a non-slip surface. In FIG. 2, outer header 100 is illustrated removed from end 22, to facilitate understanding of the placement of outer header 100 on wrapped roll 10′. Header 100 is typically circular, to match the shape of end 22 of the paper roll. The outer perimeter of header 100 may extend short of the outer perimeter of end 22 and wrap 20, thus leaving exposed a portion of crimped portions 42, or, outer header 100 may cover the entire end 22 and crimped portions 42.

The details of outer header 100 are illustrated in the enlarged view of header 100 in FIG. 3. Header 100 includes a base sheet 110 having a first surface 112 and an opposite second surface 114. A non-slip coating 120 is present on first surface 112. When installed on roll 10, header 100 is positioned so that first surface 112 and non-slip coating 120 are exposed; that is, first surface 112 and non-slip coating 120 are on the exterior of roll 10.

Base sheet 110 can be any suitable material but is usually a paper product, such as kraft paper or paperboard. Polymer based materials, which may be a laminate of paper and polymer, or all polymer, are also suitable materials for base sheet 110. Base sheet 110 may be flat or may be a corrugated sheet. Although one example of a suitable base sheet 110 is 42 pound unbleached kraft paper (i.e., a 1000 square foot ream weighs 42 pounds), base sheets of 10-100 pounds per 1000 square foot ream could be used. In some embodiments, base sheet 110 has a basis weight of 15-70 pounds per 1000 square foot ream. A 69 pound kraft paper is another example of a suitable base sheet 110.

Non-slip coating 120 can be any coating of material that provides a static coefficient of friction of at least 0.5 and preferably at least about 1.0. In some embodiments, the static coefficient of friction is at least 2.0, and even at least 3.0. As a comparative, untreated or uncoated kraft paper, which is typically used as an outer header, has a static coefficient of friction in the range of 0.3-0.5, but is usually about 0.4. Static coefficient of friction can be measured, for example, using TAPPI test method 816 entitled “Coefficient of Static Friction of Corrugated and Solid Fiber Board (Horizontal Plane Method)”.

Generally, the static coefficient of friction provides sufficient friction that, to move roll 10′ having header 100 with non-slip coating 120, a force of at least about 80% of the weight of roll 10′ is needed. For example, at least 800 lbs force is needed to move (e.g., slide) a 1000 lb roll of paper; in many embodiments, at least 85%, i.e., 850 lbs force, is desired. It is understood that larger and smaller rolls would require greater and lesser amounts of force, but that the percentage would be the same.

Although various materials can be used to increase the static coefficient of friction, encapsulated materials (which includes microencapsulated materials) is one class of suitable, and preferred, materials. As a simple description, encapsulated materials have a shell or capsule surrounding a frictional material, such as a polymeric material.

To form header 100, encapsulated adhesive material is applied to base sheet 110, i.e., to first surface 112, and then activated, e.g., burst, by the application of heat and/or pressure.

Encapsulated materials and methods for making them are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,730,456, 2,800,457, and 2,800,458 describe methods of capsule formation. Other useful methods for microcapsule manufacture are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,001,140, 4,081,376 and 4,089,802, which describe a reaction between urea and formaldehyde; U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,103 describes a reaction between melamine and formaldehyde; British Patent No. 2,062,570 describes a process for producing microcapsules having walls produced by polymerization of melamine and formaldehyde in the presence of a styrenesulfonic acid. Microcapsules are also taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,730,457 and 4,197,346. Microcapsules from urea-formaldehyde resin and/or melamine formaldehyde resin are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,001,140, 4,081,376, 4,089,802, 4,100,103, 4,105,823, and 4,444,699, and alkyl acrylate-acrylic acid copolymer capsules are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,811. U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,267 discloses an interfacial polymerization technique, and a similar technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,429. Numerous other methods of encapsulation are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,811, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,001,140, 4,087,376, and 4,089,802, U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,103, U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,710, and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,251,386 and 4,356,109. Encapsulation using gelatin is also well known; see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,800,457 and 2,800,458 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,730,456. Each patent named is incorporated herein by reference to the extent each provides guidance regarding encapsulation processes and materials.

Other classes of suitable materials for non-slip coating 120 include those generally described low-tack adhesives or pressure-sensitive adhesives, which could be encapsulated.

The encapsulated material may be water based or solvent based. In some embodiments, the encapsulated material may be a 100% solids material.

One particular example of an encapsulated material is commercially available from Press Color, Inc. of Appleton, Wis. under the designation “Stop Slip”, which is generally described as a thermo expandable waterborne ink.

Non-slip coating 120 may include filler materials or other additives. For example, silica, talc, calcium carbonate or other particulate material could be added to non-slip coating 120 to increase the static coefficient of friction.

The materials that form non-slip coating 120 can be applied to first surface 112 by conventional coating processes, such as by flood coating, saturation coating (e.g., with a metering rod), knife coating, gravure coating, reverse angle gravure coating, printing, and the like, and then appropriately dried or cured. A size coat or other undercoating may be present on first surface 112 prior to applying non-slip coating 120. Coating speeds for non-slip coating 120 of 100 ft/min to even 1000 ft/min can be obtained. Coating 120 may be a solid coating across header 100 or may be a pattern coating. Whether a solid or pattern coating, it is preferred that the density or weight of the material is generally consistent across base sheet 110.

The amount of material applied to first surface 112 is an amount sufficient to provide a non-slip coating 120 having a weight of about least 1 pounds per 1000 square foot ream, often at least about 2 pounds per 1000 square foot ream, but generally no more than about 15 pounds per 1000 square foot ream. Although sample ranges of coating weights for non-slip coating 120 are provided, it is understood that any weight of coating 120 suitable to obtain the desired coefficient of friction would be suitable. One exemplary weight range is about 3-6.5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream, and one exemplary weight is about 5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.

The activation of the non-slip properties of the coating materials, e.g., the encapsulated material, to form the increased friction surface, can be done before or after applying header 100 to wrapped roll 10′. Encapsulated materials are preferred for the reason that they are inactive (e.g., non-adherent) until activated, whereas pressure sensitive adhesives and low-tack adhesives are typically adherent upon drying of the material. Many encapsulated materials can be activated by the application of heat and/or pressure.

Returning to the drawing of header 100 in FIG. 3, on second surface 114, header 100 can include an attachment mechanism, such as coating 140, which can be an adhesive coating. Coating 140 provides an attachment mechanism to hold header 100 onto second end 12 of roll 10. Typically, coating 140 attaches to end 22 on top of crimped portions 42. Coating 140 may also attach header 100 to any inner header 50 that is positioned between crimped portions 42 of protective wrap 20 and the paper roll. For rolls lacking inner header 50, coating 140 may attach header 100 to crimped portions 42 and to the edge of the rolled paper.

In some designs, coating 140 provides additional features to header 100 in addition to providing an adhesive surface. For example, coating 140 may increase the physical stability of header 100, by providing a moisture-barrier that inhibits seepage of moisture into base sheet 110. Additionally or alternatively, coating 140 may inhibit moisture passage into the paper roll via the roll edge.

Coating 140 can be any coating of material that provides sufficient adhesive properties to hold header 100 onto wrapped roll 10′. Numerous adhesives are suitable for the application. The adhesive material may be water based or solvent based, or may be a 100% solids material, often referred to as a hot-melt. U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,459 describes the use of a hot melt adhesive for applying an outside header. The material may be a thermoplastic, a thermoset, or a blend thereof. Exemplary thermoplastics that can be used to provide a heat seal include polylactide, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl. Exemplary patents describing the use of thermoplastics for heat sealing include U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,566 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,374. The material may be radiation (e.g., UV) curable, moisture-curable, condensation-reaction curable, or merely cured or dried by the removal of solvent. The adhesive may be high-tack, low-tack, pressure-sensitive, a self-seal (i.e., it only readily sticks to itself) or any other level of adhesive that is sufficient to hold header 100 onto crimped portions 42 and wrapped roll 10′. Examples of broad classes of suitable adhesives include rubber-based adhesives, acrylate-based adhesives, and silicone-based adhesives. One example of a suitable adhesive for coating 140 is polyethylene, especially low density polyethylene (LDPE). Another example of a suitable adhesive for coating 140 is a self seal adhesive, such as one of those available under the name “Resyn Self Seal” from National Starch, “Nip-Weld” and “Turbo Seal” from Bostic, and “Robond” from Rohm & Haas. If coating 140 is a self seal adhesive, it is preferred that inner header 50 also includes that adhesive, to facilitate adherence of header 100.

The adhesive for coating 140 can be applied to second surface 114 by conventional coating processes, such as by flood coating, saturation coating (e.g., with a metering rod), knife coating, gravure coating, reverse angle gravure coating, printing, and the like, and then appropriately dried or cured. Coating 140 may be a solid coating across header 100 or may be a pattern coating. Coating 140 may be present across the entire area of second surface 114 or be limited. For example, coating 140 could be present as an annular coating configured to engage with crimped portions 42, leaving the center of second surface 114 uncoated, to not adhere, for example, to the edge of the paper when no inner header 50 is present.

The amount of adhesive applied to second surface 114 should be an amount sufficient to adhere header 100 to crimped portions 42 and any other surfaces.

Header 100 can be applied to roll 10 by generally any method for applying conventional header elements. Examples of available equipment or lines that can be used to wrap roll 10 to provide wrapped roll 10′ are available from companies such as Lamb, Valmet, and Symatec. Care should be taken, however, to assure that when applying header 100 to roll 10, header 100 is positioned so that non-slip coating 120 is on the exterior and coating 140 is against the paper roll. A liner or slip sheet may be positioned between stacked headers 100 to inhibit coating 140 from sticking to the adjacent non-slip coating 120.

One exemplary method for producing header 100 is described below.

A web of material, i.e., material that forms base sheet 110, is provided to a coater or coating line. Typical widths for the base sheet web are 15 to 80 inches, although webs as wide as 140 inches could be used. A preferred web is unbleached 42 pound kraft paper.

Encapsulated adhesive material, to form non-slip coating 120, is applied to first surface 112 of the web. An aqueous mixture of about 45% solids encapsulated material, available from Press Color, Inc. of Appleton, Wis. under the designation “Stop Slip”, is applied to first surface 112 by a saturation coating technique using a smooth applicator roll and metering rod positioned below the web surface being coated. The aqueous mixture is transferred from the applicator roll to the surface 112 at a thickness that, when dried, provides a weight of about 15 pounds per ream.

The aqueous mixture is dried by passing the coated web over two sequential heated can rollers and under one heated can roller, to provide a web temperature of about 190° F. At this temperature, the mixture is dried and the encapsulated material is activated, by bursting of the capsules. In preferred embodiments, the burst material does not stick to various process equipment (e.g., platen) during the process of putting the header onto the roll, which is described below.

Coating 140 may be previously applied, i.e., present on second side 114 of the web, prior to feeding the web into the coater applying non-slip coating 120. In another embodiment, coating 140 may be applied to the web simultaneously, i.e., on the same coating line, as non-slip coating 120. In yet another embodiment, coating 140 may be subsequently applied on a separate coating line.

After non-slip coating 120 and coating 140 are present on the web, the web is die cut to circles of the desired size.

One exemplary method for producing wrapped roll 10′ is described below.

Roll 10 is provided by conventional paper making processes. Roll 10 is wrapped with outer wrap 20 by conventional roll wrapping processes. Various equipment designs are available for wrapping paper rolls. Examples of available wrapping systems or lines that can be used to wrap roll 10 to provide wrapped roll 10′ are available from companies such as Lamb, Valmet, and Symatec. Also, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,459 to Ruohio et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,600 to Hooper et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,462 to Karr, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,608 to Ohtonen for various wrapping systems.

After wrapping, a portion of outer wrap 20 extends over ends 12, 14 of roll 10. This extension of wrap 20 is folded or crimped to provide crimped portions 42.

In some processes, an inner header 50 is applied to end 22 and the opposite end of the roll prior to crimping wrap 20 to form crimped portions 42.

Header 100, and optionally inner header 50, can be applied by conventional wrapping equipment, such as by units that use vacuum to apply header 100. Usually, a heated platen is used to at least partially activate coating 140 and hold header 100 onto the roll end. Care should be taken, however, to assure that when applying header 100 to roll 10, header 100 is positioned so that non-slip coating 120 is on the exterior and coating 140 is against the paper roll.

For some embodiments, the heated platen used to apply header to the roll also bursts the encapsulated material, thus activating the non-slip material.

After application of header 100, wrapped roll 10′ is stood on end, so that non-slip coating 120 contacts the ground or other surface on which wrapped roll 10′ is positioned.

The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended. 

1. A wrapped roll or paper or other sheet material comprising: (a) a roll of paper or other sheet material having a first end and an opposite second end; (b) an outer wrap of material wrapped circumferentially around the roll and crimped over the first end to form crimped portions; (c) an outer header adhered to the crimped portions, the outer header comprising a base sheet, an adhesive coating on a first side of the base sheet against the crimped portions, and a non-slip coating on a second side of the base sheet.
 2. The wrapped roll of claim 1 further comprising a second outer header adhered to crimped portions on the second end of the roll, the outer header comprising a base sheet, an adhesive coating on a first side of the base sheet against the crimped portions, and a non-slip coating on a second side of the base sheet.
 3. The wrapped roll of claim 1, wherein the non-slip coating has a static coefficient of friction such that, to move the roll, a force of at least about 80% of the weight of the roll is needed.
 4. The wrapped roll of claim 3, wherein the non-slip coating has a static coefficient of friction of at least 0.5.
 5. The wrapped roll of claim 3, wherein the non-slip coating has a static coefficient of friction of at least 2.0.
 6. The wrapped roll of claim 3, wherein the non-slip coating comprises encapsulated adhesive material.
 7. The wrapped roll of claim 3, wherein the base sheet comprises kraft paper.
 8. The wrapped roll of claim 7, wherein the non-slip coating comprises encapsulated adhesive material at a weight of about 1 to about 6.5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 9. The wrapped roll of claim 8, wherein the non-slip coating comprises encapsulated adhesive material at a weight of about 5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 10. The wrapped roll of claim 3, wherein the adhesive is hot melt, water based or solvent based.
 11. A method of wrapping a roll of paper or other sheet material, the method comprising: (a) circumferentially wrapping a wrap material around a roll of paper or other sheet material, with a portion of the wrap material extending axially past ends of the roll; (b) folding the extending wrap material radially against the ends of the roll to form crimped portions; and (c) adhering an outer header to the crimped portions, the outer header comprising a base sheet, an adhesive coating on a first side of the base sheet against the crimped portions, and a non-slip coating on a second side of the base sheet.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising, prior to folding the extending wrap material radially against the ends of the roll: (a) applying an inner header to the ends of the roll.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein adhering an outer header to the crimped portions comprises: (a) adhering an outer header to the crimped portions having a non-slip coating with a static coefficient of friction such that, to move the roll, a force of at least about 80% of the weight of the roll is needed.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the non-slip coating has a static coefficient of friction of at least 0.5.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the non-slip coating has a static coefficient of friction of at least 2.0.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the non-slip coating comprises encapsulated adhesive material at a weight of about 1 to about 6.5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the non-slip coating comprises encapsulated adhesive material at a weight of about 5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 18. A header for protecting rolls of paper and other sheet goods, the header comprising: (a) a base sheet having a first surface and an opposite second surface; (b) an adhesive coating on the first surface; and (c) an encapsulated non-slip coating on the second surface.
 19. The header of claim 18 being circular and having a diameter of at least 30 inches.
 20. The header of claim 18, wherein the base sheet is kraft paper.
 21. The header of claim 20, wherein the kraft paper has a weight of 10-100 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 22. The header of claim 18, wherein the non-slip coating has a weight of about 1 to about 6.5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 23. The header of claim 18, wherein the non-slip coating has a weight of about 5 pounds per 1000 square foot ream.
 24. The header of claim 18, wherein the adhesive is a hot melt, water based or solvent based. 